A new national anti-poaching squad that mainly comprises members of the intelligence community is in the offing, the government has said.
According to the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Tourism and
Natural Resources, Major General Gaudence Milanzi (pictured), the
squad’s establishment will help to intensify government efforts to end
the poaching scourge in the country.
It will oversee a fresh drive seeking to right the wrongs committed
during the government’s previous Operesheni Tokomeza Ujangili
anti-poaching campaign which was suspended indefinitely in December 2013
amid claims of torture and murder of civilians.
“This will be a special drive and an effective one in addressing
the problem of poaching in the country,” the tourism ministry PS told
The Guardian on the sidelines of a tourism and hospitality sector annual
general meeting being held here yesterday.
Unlike Operesheni Tokomeza which was seriously compromised by the
widespread claims of abuse, torture, extortion and murder committed
against civilians, the new approach will be more intelligence-oriented,
with relatively few military activities involved, Milanzi asserted.
According to the ex-army general, the new drive will include the
formation of multi-agency task forces on wildlife crime and
anti-poaching intelligence to strengthen the war against the vice.
“We have already begun to bolster security at all national border
posts, including four sniffer dogs dispatched to the Julius Nyerere
International Airport and the port of Dar es Salaam,” he added. The
Operesheni Tokomeza Ujangili campaign ended with the then president
Jakaya Kikwete sacking four ministers in his government for failing to
manage it properly. They included Khamis Kagasheki (Natural Resources
and Tourism), David Mathayo (Livestock and Fisheries), Emmanuel Nchimbi
(Home Affairs), and Shamsi Vuai Nahodha (Defence and National Service).
The then prime minister, Mizengo Pinda, admitted in parliament at
the time that the whole campaign was run in an appalling and
unacceptable way by senior government officials tasked with protecting
the country’s wildlife.
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